CLEAN EATING -- IT'S A LIFESTYLE

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

I have to admit it... sometimes I just enjoy a really good hot dog. I wouldn't list them as clean eating, but sometimes you just have to have one! Well, I do anyway. I usually opt for the best ones I can get. Around here that means Hebrew National. They have minimal additives and fillers and everything has to be kosher. So your all beef hot dogs will actually be all beef.

Something else about me... I hate to waste food. Someone recently left a package of all beef (other brand) hot dogs at my house. I really didn't want to eat them, but I just couldn't waste them. And I won't donate to the food bank anything I won't eat... so I cooked them. We almost always grill hot dogs when we have them because we like the extra flavor. Let me tell you what though... no amount of grilling was going to give these the flavor I'm used to from HN! (I am not here to shill for HN, but I have to tell you... these things were nasty.) But again... I can't waste them! So today I made Sloppy Dawgs just to have a way to use them up and make them palatable at the same time. The original Sloppy Dawgs recipe is from Rachel Ray. I made some minor subs though, to at least clean it up a little. And you know what... it worked! The hot dogs are now edible. Which means they will probably be in my lunch the rest of the week -- *sigh* -- at least I have lunch planned!

Don't get me wrong... these aren't really clean eating by any sense of the term. But it's a start in the right direction. And sometimes that's what we need, isn't it?

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Everybody knows I love fresh juicy peaches! Not too long ago I shared MR's famous peach cobblerrecipe. I get asked for that recipe every summer, so I always like to keep it handy. But the season for these beauties is winding down and I had some left to use. I don't want to waste a juicy bite, so I peeled sliced and froze most of them. I saved a couple out though to try something new. It's a beauty and I hope you like it!

Mix together almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and cut in with a pastry cutter.
Blend the vanilla and one egg together in a small bowl. Add to the almond flour mixture.
Mix until a dough forms.
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a baking sheet.
Lightly flour the center.
Turn out the dough on the prepared parchment paper.
Roll the dough into a circle, about 10" across. The dough should be about 1/8"-1/4" thick.
Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and lightly brush the rolled out dough.
Layer the sliced peaches onto the dough, leaving about 1" - 1-1/2" margin.
Gently turn up the edges of the dough.
Transfer the dough on the parchment paper to a baking sheet.
Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until the dough is firm and the edges are golden.

This just came out of the oven and it smells divine!!! (I'm pretty sure it should be eaten with vanilla ice cream!)

Monday, July 31, 2017

This is my favorite time of the year for eating. Fresh produce abounds! MR picked peaches last weekend and we have been eating everything peach all week. And I'm not complaining... not much beats the taste of a fresh juicy peach. But peaches aren't the only game in town, so this week I'll incorporate some other seasonal produce in the menu.

It's easier to eat clean this time of year because of the wide variety of readily available fruits and vegetables in my area. And they tend to be cheaper this time of year because they are so plentiful. In addition to the fresh produce, I need to clear out my refrigerator, so I'm incorporating bits of ingredients left over from previous menu items. First up....

Pesto Caprese Chicken Casserole - I prepped this Sunday morning and popped it in the oven about an hour before supper time. I love dishes that I can do this with. The flavor of this is outstanding!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burgers - This makes about a dozen decent-sized burgers. I make them all and then lay them out on a parchment-covered baking sheet. I then freeze them. Once they're frozen, I wrap them individually and then they are available anytime I want one!

Lasagna Stuff Portobello Mushrooms - I was going to prep these on Sunday but I forgot to buy ricotta! Once I fix that, I'll make them up and freeze them individually. MR doesn't like mushrooms so these will be all for me!!! UPDATE - I made these! Add a little crushed garlic or garlic powder to the ricotta mixture for more flavor!

Salt and Vinegar Zucchini Chips - I really need to get a mandolin because cutting these with a knife and getting them thin enough was a challenge for me. I do not have great knife skills. But I did like the flavor! I subbed champagne vinegar in this recipe and it came out fine.

Fresh Fruit Tart - I made this using peaches (of course!) and I was very pleased with how it turned out. It has been breakfast for the last few days!!

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Summer time is the best time to eat clean, in my opinion. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies make it a lot simpler and cheaper. I like to cook lighter things in the summer too. And, as always, I like food that is easy to make ahead. A good example is this goat cheese and tomato tart. Yesterday morning I had time to make a really good breakfast so I decided to make this tart. I have made the recipe exactly as written, and I have made a few tweaks. So far, it has always tasted wonderful. Yesterday I didn't have goat cheese so I used some feta and some quattro fromage from Trader Joe's. I'm not sure I even used the full amount of cheese... that's how flexible this recipe is!

Even with all the other great fresh options available this time of year, to me summertime means peach time! When peaches are available in your area, I know you will be looking for this recipe so I wanted to share it again. This is really the best peach cobbler ever! And I've included directions to make the un-clean version.... just in case! (Trust me, this is a hit at every summer picnic no matter how you make it!)

Sunday, May 7, 2017

I love Samoas... you know, the GS cookies? Except I don't love them as much as I love my Sorta Samoas, which are raw (except for the toasted coconut) an amaaaa-zing! And now I have another Samoas recipe to share.... drum roll please.... Samoa Donuts! Yes, donuts! Now, see, I've never really been much of a donut eater. Once in a while, but not like I have to have it. But this week I was seriously craving donuts. I wanted a donut and by golly I was going to have a donut!

The original recipe is a low-carb version, so absolutely use that one if you're counting carbs. As I've said before, I don't really count.... I just eat. I just make sure what I am eating is real, natural food... but no white flour, no white or brown sugar, and only occasionally wheat flour. I think everyone should do what works for them, and this works for me!

TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS!
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a donut pan well.
In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, coconut sugar, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
Stir in eggs, coconut oil, milk, and vanilla extract until batter is smooth.
Fill wells of donut pan about 2/3 full and bake 12-15 minutes, until firm to the touch and edges are golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan, then flip out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
Make 12 to 15 donuts.
(Optionally, you can bake these as muffins in a well greased muffin tin. Bake about 20-22 minutes.)

Toast the coconut either in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, or spread it out on a parchment lined cookie sheet and toast it in the oven while the donuts are baking. Watch it closely though so it doesn't get too brown.

Combine butter and coconut sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add cream. (The mixture will bubble when you do this.) Sprinkle with xanthan gum and whisk well. Stir in salt.
Stir toasted coconut into the mixture. Allow to cool completely.

Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in a pan and melt together (or microwave). Stir until well blended and completed melted.

Spread the topping over cooled donuts. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

I put them in the fridge to allow the chocolate to firm up. Store in an airtight container.

Monday, May 1, 2017

Here's a little something I whipped up with my new favorite pizza sauce. It turned out really good so I highly recommend you do this sometime soon. MR noted that you could use just about any pizza topping too, although I thought the pepperoni added just the right amount of extra flavor.

I love good pizza, and this sauce is absolutely the best I have ever had! It really takes no time at all to make a batch of sauce and it freezes well. I hope you love it too! You can use it with the Pizza Chicken recipe below, or on your own pizza creation!

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute until soft.
Add sun-dried tomatoes, oregano and basil. Stir and cook a minute.
If using wine, add now and allow it to simmer and reduce by about half.
Add tomato paste and water. Using a wire whisk, stir until combined. If it's too thick, add a little more water until you get the right thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook a couple minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate.
Reduce heat and add garlic to skillet. Saute until soft, about 1 minute.
Add the pizza sauce and stir in the garlic. Return the chicken to the skillet. Top chicken with mozzarella and pepperoni.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake about 15 minutes.

Let me know if you make it with other toppings and how it turns out!
What are you eating this week? Whatever it is... Keep it Clean!

Remember to subscribe to get my weekly posts. (No more than once a week with a rare exception when I find something so amazing I can't wait to share it, so let's say maybe 54 times a year rather than weekly... how does that sound? but I won't fill up your email because I hate that!) I'm just here to help you on the path to Clean Eating!

Sunday, March 19, 2017

I love love love these fajitas. Besides being really quick to make, they are absolutely loaded with flavor. You can optionally add a jalapeño for some extra zing, but it isn't necessary. You also don't have to make your own tortillas but it's hard to find prepared ones that are completely clean. But if prepackaged tortillas is the worst thing you eat all day, it's probably still a good day!

Place
chicken, peppers and onion in a 9x13 baking dish.Pour olive oil over mixture.Sprinkle seasoning mixture over.Stir or toss with your hands to coat well.

Back
35 to 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Serve
with tortillas, sour cream, and cheese.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

2
cups whole wheat flour

2
TBSP olive oil

1/2
tsp salt

1
tsp baking powder

1
cup warm water

Mix together dry ingredients.Add olive oil and combine.Slowly add warm water until a ball forms.Knead by hand for about 10 minutes.Let rest about 15 minutes. Divide the dough
into 10 equal pieces and form into balls.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat.Cut two pieces of plastic wrap slightly
larger than your tortilla press.Press
one ball of dough in tortilla press between plastic.Cook about 2 minutes on each side in a hot
skillet. Repeat with each ball of
dough.

Serve immediately or freeze for
future use.

Note:If you don’t have a tortilla press, you can
roll these with a rolling pin.Use a
small amount of flour to keep them from sticking to the surface or the rolling
pin.

Remember to subscribe to get my weekly posts. (No more than once a week with a rare exception when I find something so amazing I can't wait to share it, so let's say maybe 54 times a year rather than weekly... how does that sound? but I won't fill up your email because I hate that!) I'm just here to help you on the path to Clean Eating!

I was going to make cinnamon pecan crunch cereal from cavegirlcuisine.com, because it's awesome! But MR failed to mention that he had...

Don't Miss a Post! Have them delivered to your email!

Just some legal stuff....

This policy is valid from 11 February 2016

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.